R&B artist turned music exec Ne-Yo blasted some of today's pop acts, like Lady Gaga, saying they won't stand the test of time. Get the deets on his statement inside and watch Miguel on "Late Show."

Ne-Yo, the new Senior Vice President of A&R at Motown Records, says today's artists don't have what it takes to become icons like the Motown legends. And that includes Lady Gaga, who everyone was touting as the next big legend.

"Who was the last real icon to come out of the music industry? Everybody thought it was going to be Lady GaGa, but where is she right now, what's going on with her? Not to take anything away from her because she's ridiculously talented, but artists who stand the test of time - you just don't see those any more."

Ne-Yo, who'll soon drop his R.E.D. album, hopes to change all that in his new gig at Motown. He said,

"Motown wants to breathe fresh air into R&B, but Motown was not always cutting-edge, it was soulful but good pop music too. They were always at the top of the charts in the '60s, and today the lines are getting blurred again with R&B artists doing dance and pop acts doing R&B. I feel now it's just about good music again. Motown needs to stand for quality music, period."

Well tell em how you feel Ne-Yo.

Also in music......

Miguel stopped by “The Late Show with David Letterman” last night to perform his hit "Adorn." The song helped his Kaleidoscope Dream disc push 69,000 units its first week, putting him at #3 on the Billboard 200.

Miguel hits the road with Elle Varner and Trey Songz for the “Chapter V World Tour” on November 17th.

Comments

sorry Gaga fans. - we all knew, the ICON, the LIVING LEGEND . Queen of Pop is MADONNA.
there were only 3 biggest stars of generation. ELVIS, MICHAEL J and MADONNA. now, we have only one left. who still up there better than ever. I do cherish her now that she is stand alone.

Of course, of course. - NEYO is honest , straightforward speaks his mind. It was the fan who claims , Gaga is an Icon. duhh! common sense. ! SHE HAS LONG WAY TO GO... a tests of time.. before you become a legend or an Icon. thats the fact.

First, of all I could not stand Neo after I found out how rude and abnoxious he was when he was working w/ Whitney Houston on her last album. He was so disspectful to her instead of humbling himself to her and trying to make it work for her sake. This Negro disspected an Icon. Whitney was an Icon to me you ugly catfished faced arrogant SOB! I saw the interview when he said they did not get along because he told her nobody wanted to hear songs about her troubles anymore. Every since then I saw how arrogant he was and have not liked him ever since.
Neo talked about Usher's music which I know for sure he's jealous of Usher. #1 Usher's voice ain't whiny like his voice is.#2 Usher's is 100% more popular than he is.#3 Better looking. Neo talked about Trey Songs which I don't care about because he's very untalented to me. Now Lady Ga Ga, come on only people who are not really happy w/ their on careers come out talking about other Artist. Really? FOCUS on yourself! The music that Neo writes don't even compare to people like Babyface, R Kelly and even Robin Thicke or Alicia Keys old stuff or Mariah Carey . Soooo Neo please have several seats. You best believe YOU ARE NO ICON EITHER! Yes the music does suck right now but you are not even in that catagory of THE GREAT MUSIC writer's and producer's to even speak about it. This is another case of, love the message but not the messenger because, you have not been in the Music Business long enough to be saying anything about anybody! Shut Up w/ your ARROGANT need to be more HUMBLE SELF!
Neo IMHO has always thought of himself as someone more talented than he really is. Even if Lady Ga Ga is not an Icon who are you to say that. So it's safe to say that Lady Ga Ga is no icone but he's too afraid to say the same thing about Beyonce, when that's who he really would have preferred to name. Jay Z called his wife the best "ENTERTAINER" since MJ. Yet you did not say or comment on that. Lady Ga Ga may not be an Icon put neither is alot of other people. If you are going to come out talking about some people be honest an talk about other people who are big names and who are not icons either. I think he does not want to be like Keri Hilson and get on certain people's bad side. Punk! So just let Ga Ga be your escape goat because you are too weak to talk about certain other people. Just do everyone a favor and shut up! Who even knows if YOU will be around in 20yrs your damn self!

NEYO SIT THE FUCK DOWN AND SHUT THE FUCK UP. YOU ALWAYS GOT SOMETHING TO SAY LIKE YOU THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!! CAN'T STAND MUTHAFUCKAS WHO GOT TO PUT OTHER MUTHERFUCKAS DOWN IN A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO PULL THE FOCUS TOWARDS THEM. DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT GAGA DOING. I'M NOT A FAN, BUT WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TO SAY WHO'S GONE LAST. SO WHAT IF SHE DON'T STAND THE TEST OF TIME?? NEITHER DID YO HAIRLINE, OR MONYETTAS DEODERANT, SO SHUT THE FUCK UP. THIS AIN'T NO FUCKIN AMERICAN IDOL OR X FACTOR. GAGA PROBABLY DONE MADE MORE MONEY THAN YO SUGARY ASS EVER WILL SO SHUT THE FUCK UP! KEEP YO OPINIONS TO YO DAMN SELF UNTIL THEY ARE ASKED FOR AND EVEN THEN, SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!!!CAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, YO SHIT DON'T HOLD ENOUGH QUALITY FOR YOU TO BE MAKING PUBLIC COMMENTS ABOUT SOMEBODY ELSE'S CAREER!

I agree with him. Labels are more focused on what looks good instead of what sounds good. There are very few artist out now that will stand the test of time. Then again these crack/heroine babies have no clue what real music is so who knows

And i guess he needs to put him self in that same little category, his music has gone downnnn hill, and where is his new artist adrienne.b?? i mean everyone is entitled to their own opinion...but before you point fingers you better make sure as hell you dont have one pointing back at you, and in this case you do ne-yo, your no icon yourself.

I agree with him! The music today sounds dated ONE WEEK after it's been OVER PLAYED on the radio. I can turn on music by Marvin, Teddy, Whitney, Michael, Prince, Aretha, Chaka, Patti from TWENTY YEARS ago and that music is still FRESH to the ears. You can rediscover new things within the song, it still takes you on a journey but today? Please! I can't see myself at 60 dancing to no damn Edge of Glory or Poker Face or Single Ladies not to talk about Get Bodied. The music today is microwave pop corn music, just like this generation - it lacks depth, nuance, color, story and substance!

@DesignDiva, I agree with you 100% todays' artists (some) do not even know when to take a DAM break!! and let the public and their fans alike miss them, it would not hurt to disappear for 8 months to a year to relax and work on new material instead of rushing crap out so they can have a new CD dropping, severa so called artists put out a CD almost every 6 months adn does not have any where near the talent to back it up. I do not care how many !# hits you have the public will get tired of you at some point.

I kind of agree and not because she's not talented. I think the media removes every hint of mystery, which was the ways that Michael J, Prince and Madonna, Whitney became icons. You have to LOVE their music but also wonder about who they are as a person. That is dead and gone with social media and the paps being EVERYWHERE these people are. Due to that, these artists are so OVER the top that it makes if harder for them to be loved ONLY for their music. A dress made of meat? You shouldn't HAVE to do all that.

Correction Gay-o you're NOT an icon and NEVER will be! Him and that Teletubby Nightmare I mean Dream are such arrogant asses that don't have a reason to be. You're a songwriter that's it! Half a decade later and you still aren't a mainstream artist so SHUT THE HELL UP! He's just being a jealous QUEEN, he can't stand the fact Lady Gaga blew up so fast, is getting bigger, and is one of the most celebrated artists today. Just like Madonna I believe Lady Gaga (who is more talented) will be able to reinvent herself and stay in this business a long time. And even if she doesn't she could retire today and still have a net worth more than he would in a lifetime, especially since he spends most of his pay checks on strippers. DOUCHE BAG!

I grew up seeing Michael jackson, Prince and Madonna all become icons. He is right Lady Gaga is NOWHERE in that category. She is interesting but icon no. I'm not a Beyonce fan by any stretch of the imagination, but she is well on her way to becoming an icon.

I highly doubt it since people are more interested in her being or being pregenant and the fact that she is married to JayZ. Her music is quite banal and without substance but her personal life and the VIP she hangs out with is what attracts people not her music ( she doesn't even write her songs it's mostly the Dream or Neyo and both of them aren't Clive Davis if u know what I mean).

I think the problem is that music is shit these days. Artists, producers, and even fans are more worried about what a performer LOOKS like than what they SOUND like. Artists don't even take time off between albums anymore. They just put out one bad album after another just so they can stay relevant. If you want to be able to withstand the test of time as an artist, you have to be able to SING because everything else (looks, dance moves, etc) fades as you get older. ICONS can perform in a dark room, a cappella, with no back-up dancers and still move you.

Ninja Please.....Lady Gaga is on her way to become an icon TRUST ME. She kills it everytime she puts out music...Neyo needs to have several seats because his music is so overrated and really not all that. Lets see how many stars he is able to produce over at Motown---wait for it wait for it ?????

Are u kidding me? Before her meat dress and other shenanigans, nobody gave a hoot about her. ( yes she is talented but she won't show it). If it wasn't for her ludicrious outfits and disgusting video clips she wouldn't be anywhere where she is right now, same goes for Madonna. Then you have people like Stevie Wonder and the 90's Divas such as Celine ion, Mariah Carey or Withney Houston who only needed two things to succeed: a micro and a public. Nowadays you have to be half naked and out of sync to be successful. The only one I can see becoming an Icon is Adele and I am not even a fan. She is simple, has a poweful voice, nobody knws about her private life and mostly she is fully dressed in her videos and on stage! Hoes can't be icons!

There's some truth to what Ne-yo said but he didn't have to take it THERE. Alot of the people he works with make crappy music so??? Sheesh...Lady Gaga doesn't diss anybody so Ne-yo should've/could've followed her lead.